100 Theme Challenge
by love.always.forever.1335
Summary: 100 themedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories ranging from T-Tots to TCest to just plain old brotherly love.
1. Chapter 1

Smile

"LEO!" Michelangelo's voice resonated through the lair, "Leonardo!"

Young Mikey ran through the lair in search of his eldest brother. He searched all the usual places: the living room, the dojo, the kitchen. But Leo was nowhere to be found. It was almost noon and no one had seen him since the night before.

As he walked past Leo's bedroom on his way to Donnie's lab, he heard an unusual sound from inside. Mikey opened the door and took a peek inside. Leo was lying in his bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. He rested his head on the pillow behind him miserably and stared at the ceiling.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Mikey pushed the door open and ran inside.

Leo turned his head and stared blankly in Mikey's direction. A few weak coughs escaped his throat and his eyes filled with tears.

"Are you sick?" He ran to Leo's bedside and stood beside him.

Leo swallowed, which obviously hurt his throat, and opened his mouth to speak. Unable to make any words come out, he closed his mouth and nodded his head.

"Oh. Well I guess we will have to play follow the leader tomorrow then…" He asked fluffing Leo's pillow.

Leo sighed. He promised Mikey they would play together all day today. He hated to go back on his word. But by the way Leo felt, it would be weeks before he was well enough to play. "I'm sorry Mikey. We can play when I get better." He choked out in a harsh whisper.

"It's okay Leo. I just want you to feel better." He thought for a moment, "I know. I'll stay with you and try to make you smile."

"Nothing you do will make me smile today, Mikey. I feel awful!" His voice was nasally and weak.

"I'm gonna take that as a challenge." Mikey smiled as he ran out of the room to collect some props.

"Oh boy." Leo complained as he tried to find a comfortable position in his bed.

Mikey returned shortly after with all of his toys on a blanket that he was pulling behind him. "I'm back!" he exclaimed and closed the door behind him.

"Mikey, you should really get outta here. I don't want you to catch this." Leo forced himself to speak.

Mikey smiled and shook his head, "No way. I'm gonna stay right here until you are all better." Mikey hopped up on Leo's bed.

Leo sighed in defeat. There was no way he was going to get rid of Mikey. He eyed the toys on the floor. How he wanted to be able to play with his brother and not be confined to his boring bed. Mikey smiled ear to ear as he randomly picked a toy off the blanket. He looked at the toy he chose and sat on the edge of Leo's bed. "This is my toy robot, Boby. He talks." Mikey explained as he pressed the buttons of the robots back. The mechanical forced voice and sound effects began to give Leo a headache.

"Nothing that talks please, Mikey. My head hurts." Leo covered his face with his pillow.

"Oh, sorry." Mikey threw the robot back onto the blanket and found a quieter toy to play with. "This is my action figure. He doesn't talk." He handed it to Leo, "It fell through the grate one day and I liked it, so I took it home. He has a cape, and I think it's really cool."

Leo held the plastic toy in his hand and lifted the pillow on his face. He looked at it with tired eyes and sighed. Usually he would love to battle action figures with Mikey, but he just wasn't in the mood. He exhaled through his nose and dropped the toy and the pillow.

"I guess you don't wanna play action figures either." Mikey frowned as he picked out another toy. After what felt like hours of trying to find a toy Leo wanted to play with, Mikey had gone through each and every toy on the blanket. He had tried coloring, block building, and even juggling, but he wasn't able to make Leo smile even a little bit. "I'm out of toys now Leo." Mikey sighed

"It's okay. I didn't really feel like playing anyways." He shrugged it off.

"You must really feel bad" Mikey looked at Leo with sympathy.

Leo just nodded underneath his pillow. He sneezed followed by a sniff. Mikey noticed as his eyes started to drift into sleep, "I know. I'll tell you a story."

"I'm not really in the mood for a story, Mikey" Leo said in between coughs.

"Oh, come on Leo. It'll be funny." Mikey begged.

Leo just covered his face with his pillow in reply. He only wanted to sleep. Why wouldn't Michelangelo leave him alone? But you can't just tell such a determined 5 year old to go away. It would break his little heart.

"Do you want me to get Sensei? Does he know how you feel?" Mikey stood up and moved towards the door.

"No, Mikey. I don't want Sensei to know. I don't want any attention." Leo sat up a bit too quickly and found the room spinning around him.

"But Leo. Sensei might be able to help. Besides, he's gonna find out when you don't show up for practice." Michelangelo insisted.

Leo sighed and laid back down hoping to stop the room from spinning, with little success. He frowned and closed his eyes, "I'll be fine by practice." He lied, assuming he would be getting a lot worse before he got better.

Mikey put his hand on Leo's forehead as he remembered Splinter had done when he was sick last winter. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing or why he was doing he. He just figured it was something you do when someone is sick, "No, you're not." He frowned looking into Leo's dark melancholy eyes.

Leo sensed the concern in his brother's gaze. It warmed his heart that Mikey was so determined to make him feel better. Before he had time to think about it, Leo felt his cheeks lift under his heavy eyes.

"I told you I'd make you smile." Mikey smiled a Leo. He fluffed Leo's pillow and pulled the blankets around his brother. "See ya later, Leo. Sleep tight." Mikey collected his toys and left Leo's room.

Leo watched attentively as his brother left and closed the door behind him. He started to feel his heart sink in his chest, but not long after, sleep overcame him and he was drug into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The Next Day

Leo woke up feeling much better than he had the day before. He immediately he remembered that he promised Mikey they would play follow-the-leader when he felt better. Excited and impatient beyond compare, Leo jumped out of his bed and ran down to Mikey's room. Despite the earliness of the hour, he swung open the door and ran to Mikey's bed. His excitement vanished as he noticed his little brother in the same state he had just recovered from.

"Mikey" he whispered, "are you okay?" he asked.

Mikey shook his head and pulled the blankets over his head, escaping from reality for only a moment.

"I'm sorry I got you sick, Mikey." Leo pulled the covers off Mikey's head and gently tucked him in.

"It's not your fault." Mikey frowned as he stared out his bedroom door admiring that which he couldn't have.

Leo pondered for a moment, followed by an ingenious idea. He dug through the mess known as Mikey's room and found the toys from yesterday.

"What are you looking for Leo?" Mikey asked while watching Leo run around frantically.

Leo collected as many toys as he could find and dropped them on Mikey's bed. He looked up at his brother smiling ear-to-ear, "I'm gonna make you smile."


	2. Chapter 2

Dark

Three-year-old Michelangelo sat in front of the TV watching his favorite television show. It was his turn to pick the channel so none of his brothers could complain that it was a show about talking construction vehicles. He looked behind him to see his three older brothers sitting uninterested on the sofa behind him, with the exception of one who appeared more angry than uninterested. Mikey smiled as he moved to lay on his plastron kicking his feet in the air and resting his head in his hands.

"Mikey, move your feet." Raphael complained with his arms crossed unable to form a more complex sentence.

"You don't like this show, Raphie." Mikey smiled as he intentionally pointed his toes at the ceiling.

Before Raphael could retaliate, the lair went dark. Every single one of the few light sources in the lair simultaneously blew. The four boys let out a surprised scream as their surroundings disappeared right before their eyes.

"What's going on?" Michelangelo asked trying to locate his brothers.

"I think the power is out." Donatello replied trying to see in the dark room.

Mikey crawled over to the sofa behind him, "Where are you guys?"

"We are right her Mikey." Leonardo reached out to find Michelangelo. He moved his hand around until he felt a shell in his hands, "Mikey, is that you?"

"Yeah." Michelangelo moved into Leonardo and crawled up on the couch with his brothers.

Confused, the four small turtles huddled together and waited for their father to find them. They were told if they were ever lost or stuck to stay where they were, it was the safest thing to do.

While they awaited their father, small whimpers were heard in the group of turtles sitting patiently on the floor.

"What's wrong, Mikey?" Leonardo asked sensing that it was the youngest of the brother that was crying.

"I'm afraid of the dark." Michelangelo sobbed as he searched for one of his brothers to console him.

"It's okay, Mikey. There's nothing to be afraid of." Donatello grabbed his little brother in his arms and explained the logic of darkness to Mikey. "Everything is exactly the same in the dark as it is when there's light."

"But monsters like the dark better because no one can see them." Mikey whined resting his head against Donnie's shoulder.

"There's no such thing as monsters, Mikey." Leo comforted his brother and placed a loving hand on his carapace.

"Of course monsters exist, Leo. They live in the closets and under the beds and in the dark." Raph teased to scare Mikey even more. Mikey began to cry even more. He nuzzled himself deep into the crook of Donnie's neck and sobbed louder than he had been.

"Stop it Raph, Mikey is already afraid." Donnie rocked Mikey to calm him down some. He hushed him and smiled lovingly, "Mikey, Raph is only kidding. Monsters don't exist. I promise."

Mikey wiped the tears out of his eyes and looked up at Donnie, "Are you sure?"

"100% sure" Donnie hugged his brother. He could tell that Mikey was still not relieved of his fear, "Look, Mikey, see that over there." He pointed to a plant they had sitting in the corner, "What does it look like to you?"

Mikey tried to see, "It looks like a monster with lots of tentacles, Donnie you said monsters weren't real!" He began to freak out and move on top of Donnie.

"No, Mikey, it's not a monster." Donnie stood up and grabbed Mikey's wrist, "Come with me." He pulled Mikey over to the corner. Michelangelo cried the whole distance.

"Donnie, stop. You're making it worse." Leo ran over to his two brothers and tried to comfort the youngest, however, Donnie refused to let Leo near.

"Trust me, Leo. I'm gonna show Mikey the dark is nothing to be afraid of." He pushed Leo away and pulled Mikey closer to himself.

Leo, now extremely agitated, returned back to the center of the living room where Raph was enjoying Mikey's tears, "Fine, Donnie. Scare Mikey out of his shell, Master Splinter will love to hear all about this." He crossed his arms and turned his head away.

"You just have to trust me Leo. I know exactly what to do." He turned his attention away from Leo and back towards Mikey. "Okay, Mikey, touch it."

"I wanna stay with Leo now." Mikey struggled to get around Donnie who was blocking all of his escape attempts.

"Please Mikey, just trust me. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you." Mikey noticed the sincerity in Donnie's face.

Mikey sighed and turned around to face the tall monster in front him. He gulped as he reached his hand out to touch it. As his hand came in contact with one of its arms, he retracted it and scrunched his eyes shut. After waiting several seconds for the monster to attack him and eat his face, he opened his eyes and touched it again, this time paying more attention to detail. He noticed how the arms had a soft feel and were fragile to the touch, and attached to them were thin limbs which led to a thicker and stronger frame, "This is a plant" Michelangelo announced after further inspecting the dirt and leaves he once thought was a monster.

"Right, now. Do you see that over there?" Donnie pointed to the other side of the room, "What do you think that is?"

"Another monster." Mikey cowered behind Donnie's shell in fear.

"No, Mikey. There's no such thing a monsters." Donnie took Mikey to the other side of the room, this time without any interruptions. "Touch this now."

Mikey more willingly surrendered his hand in search of an object. He felt something large. It had four legs on the floor and a plastic-like feel to it. Mikey found all different kinds of levers and buttons on the sides and a glass piece on the top. "The pinball machine." Mikey correctly identified.

Donnie continued to ask Mikey to identify objects around the living room. Mikey was able to identify the sofa by its soft plush feel, the TV by its glass screen, the punching bag by the stuffing spewing out of the tears, and Spike by his hard shell and four short legs among other things. However, Mikey had not one come in contact with a single monster on his adventure through the darkness.

"See, Mikey. I told you. There is nothing to be afraid of in the dark. Everything stays the same when the lights go off and monsters don't exist." Donnie smiled proudly and he embraced his little brother.

"Okay, Donnie, I believe you. Monsters don't exist." Mikey finally announced having overcome his fear of the dark.

"I hate to interrupt, but if monsters don't exist, then what's that?" Raph asked as he and Leo joined their brothers in the corner.

A tall dark shadow moved about the lair. The four young turtles were petrified with fear. "I don't know, but it's headed right for us." Donnie clung onto Leo for protection.

Mikey, feeling incredibly brave, proudly walked over to the shadow and extended his hand. He felt a soft fabric he was all too familiar with. Moving his hand around, he managed to find a long bare tail in his hands. He turned towards his brothers, "Daddy." He smiled as he was hoisted into the air by his father, "Monsters don't exist, Donnie." He snuggled himself into his father's chest.

"My sons, what is the matter here?" Splinter asked, holding Mikey in his arms, "Where are the lights?"

"The power went out, daddy." Raph sobbed, having almost wet himself in fear.

Splinter thought for a moment, as he remembered the power box located in the kitchen, "Follow, me, my sons, I know how to turn the light back on." He carried Mikey into the kitchen and set him down on the table. Splinter began flicking the switches in the large box on the wall. Donnie had always wondered what was in that box and why he wasn't allowed inside. Now he understood. The switches controlled all the power in the lair. After several failed attempts, Splinter found the master switch and flicked it on, restoring light to their home. "Now, who is hungry?" Splinter smiled able to see the relief in his sons' faces. The four young turtles answered eagerly awaiting to be fed.

After Splinter served the boys their dinner, he sat down with a bowl of rice and began to eat. "Michelangelo, I am very proud of you. It appears you have overcome your fear of the dark." He smiled at his youngest.

Mikey nodded, grinning ear to ear, "Donnie taught me that the dark is the same as the light, just darker."

Splinter chuckled a little, "Well done, Donatello."

"Thank you, daddy. Mikey was the bravest of us all back there. Raph was ready to wet his shell." Donnie lightly chuckled.

"I was not afraid." Raph retaliated.

"It does not matter, Raphael. What's important is that Michelangelo is no longer afraid of the dark." Splinter turned the conversation around to praise Mikey again.

"Yeah, but sensei?" Mikey asked, dropping his fork for the time being.

"Yes, Michelangelo."

"Does this mean you're gonna take my night light away? Because I don't think I'm ready for that just yet."

Splinter laughed, almost choking on his rice, "No, my son. I will not take away your night light."


	3. Chapter 3

As was the typical nightly routine, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo hopped across the rooftops of New York City. Usually, it turned into more of a contest than it was a patrol. But when the boys saw the bright pink glow of Kraang guns, they knew play time was over. They ran over two buildings down where the Kraang were holding people hostage.

Raphael immediately became aggressive and unsheathed his sai, "We gotta help those guys." He snarled at Leo.

"We will, but we can't just run right in there, we need some kind of a plan." He looked around to see that all three of his brothers had once again disobeyed him and jumped right into the fight. He rolled his eyes, "Ugh, why do I even bother anymore." He mumbled joining his brothers on the rooftop.

Mikey had managed to free the hostages and bring them down to the safety of the city streets. Terrified, the half dozen people, now free from the Kraang, ran in all different direction to reconsider their definition of truth. "You're welcome," he shouted before returning to the rooftop. He pulled out his nunchaku and started swinging at the Kraang.

They managed to send the Kraang on a cowardly retreat. As the brothers celebrated their victory, one last Kraang droid pulled the trigger, sending a bright pink laser beam right into Leo. The force pushed the blue-clad turtle off the rooftop.

"Leo!" Mikey yelled as he watched his eldest brother fall to the pavement below. He was too shocked to move. He winced as he heard the crack of Leo's shell collide with the pavement. He watched as the Kraang droid ran away and moved to chase him.

Donnie placed his hand on Mikey's carapace, "It's not worth it Mikey, we have to help Leo."

Mikey pouted, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, and pursued the alien anyway.

Donnie sighed as he jumped off the rooftop to join Raph next to Leo's motionless body.

Raph looked down at Leo, and then up at Donnie, "What do we do, Donnie?" Raph never was good under pressure.

Donnie checked Leo's vitals; he was still alive, but barely. Donnie didn't want to assume how much time he had left. "We get him back underground, maybe sensei can help him." He shed a tear, but quickly wiped it away to keep the essence of seriousness on his face.

Raph nodded, keeping his composure. He picked Leo up in his arms and carried him to the nearest manhole, "take the cover off Donnie." He instructed, holding Leo close to him. He could feel the crack in his shell and feel the blood drip from Leo's head onto his arm.

Donnie pulled off the cover and Raph jumped down, keeping his grip on Leo. Donnie looked for any sign of Mikey before he followed Raph into the sewers. He frowned and grabbed the cover, "be safe, Mikey," he whispered before covering the manhole and catching up to Raph.

"He's losing a lot of blood, Donnie. We have to stop the bleeding." Raph realized they were far from their home and would not make it in time.

Donnie untied his mask and tied it around the wound on Leo's head, "That should hold it until we get home, just keep walking." Donnie appeared to remain unaffected by his brother's impending death.

Minutes began to feel like days as they walked through the sewer on their way home. Raph had lost his composure and fell apart with Leo in his arms. The fear that Leo was not going to make it took him over as he stumbled to reach the lair.

"Keep it together Raph; Leo is going to be fine." Donnie lied, knowing the severity of the situation. Leo was his best friend and it was hard to imagine a life without him. But before Donnie allowed the coping to set in, he needed to be one hundred percent positive that Leo would die.

"You're right Donnie. Let's just hurry home." Raph calmed down slightly. The lair was in sight, and was it a sight for sore eyes. Donnie and Raph walked a much quicker pace and jumped over the turnstile.

"Sensei! Help" Raph shouted carrying Leo over to the couch.

Splinter quickly ran into the living room and saw Leo. He rushed to his son's side and looked over the damage. Slowly, he ran his hand along the crack in his shell. "What happened?" he looked at Raph and Donnie for answers.

"Leo was shot by the Kraang, off a roof." Raph could explain no more, avoiding the water works at all costs.

"Where is Michelangelo?" He looked around the room uneasily, looking for his orange clad son.

Donnie sighed, "We don't know Sensei; he chased after the Kraang that shot Leo. I told him not to, but he doesn't listen."

"He could be in trouble. Raphael, Donatello, go find him. I will watch over Leonardo." Splinter demanded, fearing for his youngest son's life.

"Hai, sensei." The two wished Leo the best before leaving, afraid he wouldn't be there when they got back.

_In Leonardo's Head. _

_"Where am I?" Leo woke up in a white room. The room was empty, with the exception of him and another woman, sitting crisscross in the center of the room with her eyes closed. He recognized nothing. He stood up and searched for an escape. _

_"You're wasting your time," A woman spoke, her voice harsh, "There is no way out. I've looked already." _

_Leo sat in front of the woman to get a better look at her. She wore a wedding gown and a veil over her face. Her entire face was plastered with cosmetics and her auburn hair done up into a half bun to keep the hair framing her tan face. "Who are you?" he asked her. _

_She pulled the veil away from her face, "My name is Faith, not like it matters. You will be out of here any minute now." She opened her eyes for the first time to get a look at her present company. "You're a turtle?" she quirked an eyebrow. _

_"Yeah, my name is Leonardo." He quickly introduced himself, "What do you mean I'll be out of here any minute." He was clearly more interested in his current situation than he was making friends. _

_"You'll die." She stood up, "Don't you understand where we are." She crossed her arms and bucked a hip out. _

_"Die." Leonardo repeated. _

_"Yeah, you're dying. That's why you're here. This is where people go when they aren't dead yet, but have no chance of returning to life." She seemed unphased by the information. _

_"How do you know all this." Leo asked her, still very confused. _

_She sat back down, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top, "I've been here a really long time." _

_Leo sat next to her, "What happened to you?"_

_"I don't know. It's been so long, I can't remember anymore." She looked at Leo as if he knew her past, "Why am I telling you any of this, any second now, you are going to die. The big door will open and he will call your name. And after that, you will go with him and never see me again." _

_"I take it you done this a couple times before." Leo smiled at her. _

_"I've been here for years, Leonardo. I've seen millions of people in here before. I know how this works. Everyone goes through the big doors. When the big doors open, I see the bright light that shines in here and hope he will call my name, but he never does. Then the doors close and I'm alone again." She sobbed a little bit._

_"I won't leave you, Faith. I promise," he put his hand on hers and smiled at her. _

_"You don't have a choice." She frowned at him. _

Reality

Donnie and Raph had been searching for Mikey for hours, and had been unable to find him.

"We have to go back home." Raph insisted, "I want to be there when Leo dies."

"Leo's not gonna die, Raph. He will be fine. Sensei is taking care of him." Donnie continued to lie to himself.

"Open your eyes, Donnie. He got shot by the Kraang lasers and fell off the roof, landing on the sidewalk, cracking his shell and his head. He's a goner." Raph shouted.

Donnie backhanded Raph in anger, "Just shut up!" Tears streamed down Donnie's face, "Leo will be fine." He collapsed on his knees, "He's gonna be fine." He let the tears flow unable to control himself anymore. "He's gonna be fine."

Raph took Donnie into his arms and comforted him. He let some tears of his own drop down his face, unable to control them anymore. Seeing Donnie break down was just too much for him. He waited until Donnie had cried all his tears before speaking, "Mikey will be fine. Let's go back home."

Donnie and Raph rushed back to the lair. "How's Leo?" Raph asked upon entering.

"Where's Michelangelo?" Splinter noticed the lack of one son.

"He's fine, sensei. He said will come home in a little bit. He's just upset about everything." Raph lied, unwilling to go another uneventful search.

Splinter stroked his thin beard, "Very well. Leonardo is not doing well, my sons. I fear the worst will become the reality." He dropped his head, escorting them to Leo's room.

The two boys watched as their brother's chest slowly moved up and down as he struggled to breathe. Tears filled their eyes. "Sensei, is there any hope?"

"There is always hope, Donatello. We just have to believe that Leonardo is strong enough to find his way back home." Splinter put his paw on his son's shell in comfort.

Donnie walked closer to Leo and knelt beside Leo's bed, "Whatever you do, Leo. Don't go into the light." He grabbed his brothers lifeless hand and held it close to his heart.

_In Leonardo's Head_

_"Why are you still here?" Faith asked, "You should have left a long time ago." _

_"I guess I'm not dead yet." Leo leaned back and smiled. _

_"There must be something keeping you alive. Some kind of life support of something." She insisted. _

_"Faith, I live in a sewer. We don't have any really fancy medicine down there." He reassured her. _

_She laughed a little, "How did you die?" she asked. _

_"I'm not dead yet." He joked. _

_"Whatever. How did you end up here?" _

_"I guess I fell off the roof. I must have hurt myself." He remembered getting shot off the roof._

_"Oh." She replied as if that wasn't the answer she expected. "What's the world like now?" she looked up to the ceiling of the room. _

_"There isn't really much to report. I guess it's the same." He shrugged. _

_"Tell me about your family." She insisted, having no memory of her own. _

_"Well, I have a father, and three brothers. We live in the sewers of New York City. My father taught my brothers and me ninjutsu, so we fight evil during the night. During the day we just hang out like a regular family." _

_"Tell me about your brothers. What are they like?" _

_"One is named Donatello. He's really smart and he builds cool robots and stuff. Another one is Raphael. He's got a bit of an attitude, and it only gets worse when you get to know him." He laughed a little, "And then there's Michelangelo. He's the kid of the group." His smile turned to a frown. "I wonder what they are doing right now. They are probably waiting for me to wake up. What will Mikey do without me?" He stood up. "I can't die." He insisted. _

_"You don't make the choices, Leonardo. He does. You just have to accept it and wait until you die." _

_"I can't die. My brothers need me. My family needs me." He paced the perimeter of the small room. "I can't die. They need me." He repeated to himself the whole time around._

_The large door opened and a bright light shone into the room, blinding Leonardo and Faith. _

_"Leonardo Hamato." A deep masculine voice called his name. _

_"Goodbye Leo. You're dead." Faith hugged him goodbye, letting a single tear fall, and pushed him in the direction of the light. _


	4. Chapter 4

Donnie and Raph watched as Leo's chest suddenly stopped rising and falling. "No." Donnie whispered running over to Leo. He started CPR immediately. "No. No. Leo, you can't die." Donnie shouted tears streaming down his face, pressing against Leo's chest with all the force he could muster up, "I'm not gonna let you die."

Raph sighed and stood off the chair he was sitting in. He crept up to Donnie and put his hands on either side of his carapace. Upon being touched, Donnie stopped immediately and turned around. He looked at Raph with watery eyes and a quivering frown. Raph frowned and looked him in the eyes, crying himself, "It's over Donnie." Donatello broke down, falling to his knees and holding his head in his hands.

"It can't be over. He can't be gone. He's gonna come back." Donnie spoke between deep sobs.

Raph felt sorry for his brother. He semi-understood the relationship they shared and he knew he could never replace Leo in their lives. But he would try his best. He wrapped his arms tightly around Donnie and pushed him close. "I'm sorry Donnie."

Donnie nested his head in the crook of Raph's neck, "He was my best friend. He was my role-model. He was my big brother." He cried even more, "He can't be gone."

Splinter heard the commotion from his room. It shocked him out of his meditation and he rushed into Leo's room. "My sons. What is this commotion?" He asked upon entering. Only then did he realize that the green was slowly becoming a gray in Leonardo's face. His fatherly instinct told him to remove Raph and Donnie from the scene. He had experienced watching a loved one die and was already too late with his sons. He wished he could turn back time and remove them before they watched Leo die. He thought they had more time. He thought Leo had more time. But time can be a bitch.

He pushed Donnie and Raph into the hallway and closed the door. Splinter took the lonesome to mourn over his son's body. He thought that Leo would be strong enough to survive. He would have the will to survive. But he was wrong. He pulled the covers over his son's body, unwilling to dispose of the carcass so soon. "We will miss you, Leonardo." A tear dropped from the tip of his nose onto the blanket over Leo's face. He knelt beside the bed and sobbed into his arms.

Donnie and Raph stood in the hallway sobbing. Raph continued to try to calm Donnie down as he cried into his shell. Raph moved to take Donnie into the living room. He sat him on the sofa and continued to hold him close. "Everything will be alright. I promise." Raph pressed his forehead to Donnie's and looked him in the eyes, forcing the most sincere smile he could afford.

_Leo took a deep breath and looked into the door. "Goodbye Faith." He whispered before walking through the large doorway. The light in the room blinded Leonardo. As soon as the light passed, he saw an endless pink cloud filled with many homes. Everything seemed so peaceful. So perfect. It was the way he expected the afterlife to be. _

_But he knew he couldn't stay. He had to return to earth; to his family; to his life. He was approached by the owner of the deep voice calling his name from the white room. _

_"Welcome to Heaven, Leonardo. Let me show you around." He put his muscular hand around Leo. _

_"Thank you, sir. But I'm afraid I can't stay." He half smiled. _

_The man laughed, "And where else would you go? Don't you understand where you are?" _

_"I understand, but I'm hoping there is some way I can go back. You see, my brothers need me. My family needs me." He explained. _

_The man cocked a brow in interest, "And you think you can just return to life after you have already died." _

_"I've heard it happen before." Leo retorted matter-of-factly, "I've seen documentaries on people who were dead, then came back to life." _

_"Those are all fake, Leonardo. Those thing just don't happen." He explained._

_"Please. I belong on Earth. This has to be some kind of mistake. I have the will to survive. I want to live. I need to be with my family. They are probably devastated without me. You must have lost someone before you ended up here. You have to understand how they must feel." Leo argued. _

_"Leonardo, do you know who I am?" He opened his hand offering it to him. _

_"Um, no. It hasn't really crossed my mind" He shrugged. _

_The man chuckled, "Leonardo. I am God Almighty." _

As Raph consoled Donnie on the couch, Mikey walked through the turnstile. He noticed the tears running down his brother's cheeks and the depression engraved on their face. He immediately understood their purpose. "No." he shook his head running to Leo's room. Raph tried to stop him by chasing after him, but Donnie continued to cling onto him.

Mikey burst into the room to see his father leaning over the bed. Splinter turned around to see his orange clad son standing behind him, tears building up in his eyes. "Michelangelo, you should not be in here." Splinter stood up and blocked his son's view of the body, still with watery eyes himself.

"Is that Leo? Is he…" A tear streamed down his face. He moved around Splinter and pulled back the covers. Horrified, he collapsed to his knees and bawled his eyes out. "No." He shouted to the heavens slamming his fists on the bed. "Why? Why?" He repeated over and over again.

"I am sorry, my son." Splinter deeply sighed stifling his sob, "It is as it must be." He put his hands on Mikey's shoulders, tears falling silently down his face.

"I never got to say goodbye." He sobbed, "I never got to say goodbye." Splinter pulled his son into a comforting embrace.

_Leo continued to argue that he belonged on Earth for what felt like days, "Well, your holiness, please allow me to return to my life. I swear I will do anything you ask of me." He begged, "My brothers just really need me." _

_"Come with me, let me show you something." God walked Leo into his kingdom. He handed Leo a mirror. "Look into this. It will show you whatever you want to see on Earth." _

_Leo looked into the mirror and he saw inside the lair. He saw Donnie and Raph comforting each other on the couch and his heart sank. The mirror then changed perspectives into his bedroom where Mikey cried into his father's chest next to his dead body. "Please, please let me go back. Why did you show me this? Why would I want to see them like that?" If spirits could cry, he insisted that he would be doing so. _

_"Leonardo. Your family must learn to live without you. It is a natural part of life." _

_"Please. I beg of you. Ask me to do anything, and I'll do it. I just want to make my family happy again." _

_God sighed, followed by a genuine smile. Leonardo's words had touched his heart in a way that no one had ever done before, "Because you have shown that you are unselfish and virtuous, I will send you back." he led Leo deeper into his kingdom. "It is incredibly rare that I send people back after they have died. You must consider yourself very lucky." _

_"I do. And I'm entirely grateful to you. I promise I will be more virtuous. Thank you. Thank you so much." He wanted to hug him, but he was unsure if that is accepted or not. "I humbly thank you." _

_"You are welcome. I will not allow you to cheat death again though. So please be more careful." They approached a large room, "This is as far as I can go. Goodbye, Leo. You have to pass through this door and you will return to your body. To your life. To your family." God smiled, "I have enjoyed our time together." _

_"Until later, I suppose. Thanks again." Leo smiled. _

_"Many years later, I hope. Enjoy life. And don't tell anyone about this. I'll be keeping a close watch on you." God turned around to walk away._

_Leo smiled as he started to turn the doorknob to return to his life, "Oh, wait. I almost forgot. May I ask something of you?" He asked quickly releasing the doorknob from his grasp. _

Mikey was still being consoled by Splinter. He continued to repeat his mistake, to the point where he sounded like a broken record. "I left without saying goodbye." Splinter felt Mikey's pain as he wept for the loss of his son as well. Splinter tried to get Mikey to leave the room in hopes it would alleviate some of the initial shock. As he did so, Mikey opened his eyes to see the color was returning to Leo's skin.

He pushed Splinter out of his way as he went to further investigate. Leo's chest began to rise and fall slowly as he regained his organ function. Mikey carefully pressed his hand to the middle of Leo's chest. "He has a heartbeat, sensei. He's alive." Mikey rejoiced. He pulled the covers off entirely and checked the rest of his body. "He's alive."

"How can that be?" Splinter asked dumbfounded. In all his years of healing training, he had never heard of someone coming back from the dead.

"It doesn't matter how. The important part is that he is alive." Mikey held onto his brother's hand and watched as his eyes fluttered a little. "He's waking up. He's gonna be okay."

Splinter stood there watching this in disbelief. People do not rise from the dead. He moved closer to further comprehend the situation. He heard a soft moan of pain purse Leo's lips. "I do not know how, but you are right. He is alive." Splinter smiled joyously, tears of happiness dropped down his soft cheeks.

Donnie and Raph had heard the excitement from the living room and came to check it out. They were afraid to enter, afraid that Mikey was just delusional. They were wrong, however. Mikey was right. Leo was coming back from the dead.

Leo's eyes shot open and he yelled in pain. The crack in his shell caused him much discomfort and he felt lightheaded due to the bloodloss. "Donatello, get something to ease Leonardo's pain immediately." Splinter commanded.

Donnie ran out of the room and retrieved his emergency supply of morphine. He injected a fair amount into Leo's arm to prevent Leo's body from registering pain. "This should kick in pretty soon." He smiled at his brother who minutes ago he wept over.

Leo moaned in discomfort, "thanks" he managed to force himself to say.

"It's no problem at all." Donnie smiled, more than thrilled to see his brother alive again.

Splinter took this opportunity to further examine the wounds covering Leonardo's body, "These injuries will require months of healing. Now that you are alive, you can allow for the healing to begin."

"Hai sensei." Leo smiled seeing the smiles on everyone's face. He knew he couldn't tell any of them about what he did, but he could recall the entire experience himself and couldn't help but smile.

"Come, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, we must leave Leonardo to rest now." Splinter escorted the boys out of the room.

"See ya later Leo." Mikey smiled before closing the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 months later ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo's wounds had healed nicely in the past months. He had learned to live life to the fullest, because you never know when it's going to end. He loved patrol even more than he did before, but remembered to be very careful when standing near an edge. He continued to fight the Kraang, maybe even with more momentum than he had previously, and was never going to give up crime fighting.

As he hopped across the rooftops one cold New York City night, he peeked into a window to see a familiar face. He stopped immediately, confusing his brothers.

"What's the matter, Leo?" Mikey asked wondering why he suddenly stopped.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up." Leo jumped across the street to the apartment complex.

"Suit yourself," Raph shrugged and jumped across the remaining rooftops. Mikey and Donnie followed behind him.

Leo sat on the fire escape looking into the window trying not to be seen. He recognized the girl with auburn hair he met so many months ago. "Faith," he murmured.

He sat there watching her until her company left the room. When he left, Leo knocked on the window to get her attention. "God, I hope she remembers me…" he muttered under his breath as she turned and looked towards the window.

She ran over to the window and pushed it open, "Leonardo?" She asked, hopping out onto the fire escape.

"Yeah, it's me. The one and only." He smiled…badly.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him, "You shouldn't be here. You died. I saw it. What happened?" She asked all in one big breath.

"I can't tell you. I promised. What about you? You are finally out of that white room." He gave her a once over.

"Yeah, it turns out I was in a coma. I had a heart attack on my wedding day or something, can you believe it? That explains all the wedding attire." She joked. "Oh, it's so good to see you. I had no idea you were alive."

"Neither did I. We should hang out more sometime." He grabbed her hand in his own.

"Yes, we should. You can visit whenever you'd like." She shrieked in excitement.

"Babe, who are you talking to?" The male figure returned from the other room.

"Oh, no one. I'm on the phone." She lied, "That's my husband. Turns out he waited seven years to marry me." She smiled.

"Awesome." Leo turned around to see his brothers approaching, "I'm gonna have to go now. My brothers are coming. I'll see you around?" He asked.

"Most definitely. Maybe sometime you can introduce me to your brothers. It's Donatello, Raphael, and Angelo, right?"

"Michelangelo." He corrected her.

"Right, Michelangelo. See you around." She climbed back into her apartment and closed the window, waving goodbye as her husband wrapped his arms around her.

His brother hopped next to him on the fire escape. "So, who is she?" Raph asked.

"A friend," He smiled, "A really good friend."


	5. Chapter 5

Breathe

"What are we gonna learn today, sensei?" Leo asked, leading his brothers into the dojo.

The small turtles sat on the ground awaiting their teacher's instructions. "I hope it's something with kicking." Raph smiled deviously at Mikey.

"Maybe it will be backflips!" Mikey smiled, clearly not understanding Raph's crude humor, "I love backflips."

They all turned their attention to their father as he sat down in front of them. He set a stereo beside him and plugged it into the wall. "Ninjutsu is not just about fighting. It is about becoming one with the mind and body. Today, we will have a lesson on meditation."

"But I don't like meditation, sensei. It tastes icky!" Mikey made a face.

Splinter thought for a moment, confused. He realized what Mikey meant and corrected him: "No, Michelangelo. Not medication. Meditation. Medication is for when you are ill and need to feel better. Meditation is for when you need to relax."

Leo raised his hand, "sensei." He waited for his father's acknowledgement, "Is meditation like what you do all the time?"

"Yes, Leonardo. I meditate often. I will teach you the basics so you can meditate on your own." He smiled, "Now let us begin." He hit a button on the stereo and soft sounds of the ocean filled the dojo, "We will be focusing on breathing meditation today."

"But, sensei, we already know how to breathe." Raph inquired, slightly confused about the meditation aspect of ninjutsu.

Splinter lightly chuckled, "This meditation will teach you how to relax using breathing. Now, no further interruptions. We must begin." He took a deep breath and released it, "Start by getting into a comfortable position. But not too comfortable that you may fall asleep." He heard the rustling of tiny turtles on the carpet. When the rustling stopped, Splinter opened his mouth to speak, "Now close your eyes."

He waited a few seconds. His own eyes closed, he was unable to tell if they had theirs closed. "Now, slowly roll your shoulders forward, then backward. Lean your head from side to side. Relax your muscles." He slowly opened on eye to observe the young ones. They struggled to complete all the tasks. Their eyes were scrunched shut and their shoulder movements were too forced. Instead of fluidly leaning their heads side-to-side, they were acting like bobble-heads having been bobbled too hard. They were far from relaxed.

"Yame." He called out and the turtles stopped moving and opened their eyes. "Observe." Splinter showed them how they should be moving. Eyes closed as if in a constant blink. Shoulders rolling smoothly in their sockets, synchronized with each other. Head swaying like the pendulum in a grandfather clock. Calm. Fluid. Relaxed. "Now, try it again."

The boys started again. First, close eyes. Second, roll shoulders. Third, sway head. They appeared much more relaxed and much less forced. "Good, now let's continue. Don't stop."

Splinter turned the music down a notch to put it into the background, "Observe your breathing. Do not change it, just recognize it. Focus in on the in breath and the out breath." Before he could continue, he heard the forced breathing of four young turtles. "Breathe through your noses, not your mouths. Breathe as you usually do. Do not force it."

"But sensei. My nose is stuffy. I can't breathe through my nose." Donnie proclaimed.

Splinter smiled and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He held it against Donnie's nose, "Blow." Donnie did as he was told and cleared his nose. "Very good, low let's continue, please." He sat in his meditation pose once again.

The sounds of forced breathing were replaced by the sound of nasally puffs of air. It was sufficient. "Focus only on your breathing. If you find your mind wandering, return your attention of your breaths." He inhaled and exhaled, "Notice the stages of the breath. Notice the in breath. The inhale. Notice the pause. Notice the out breath. The exhale. Notice the next pause. And so on."

"Visualize the breath as it passes through your nasal cavities, through your sinuses, and into your lungs. Notice how your chest expands as you breathe in, and falls as you breathe out. Notice how your stomach moves with each breath. Pay attention to your breathing only." All seemed to be going well. The calming sounds of the ocean played behind Splinters soothing voice. The boys appeared to be much more relaxed.

"Inhale and count in your mind. One." Splinter heard the four turtles inhale in unison. "Exhale. One." The turtles exhaled. "Inhale. One. Exhale. One." Splinter repeated the pattern many times before his sons were independently counting their breaths. He let them continue the breathing on their synchronized schedule. Hearing the peaceful sounds of ocean waves and small breaths almost soothed Splinter into a meditative state himself. It had been so many years since he had needed any calming music to relax.

"Notice your body. See how calm your breath is. Feel how relaxed your body is. We will begin to reawaken your body now. Slowly and gently," he started to emphasize the importance of slow and gentle, "notice the sounds around. Keep your eyes closed. Hear the waves, hear the wind, and hear my voice. Move to touch the floor below you. Recognize the texture. Feel your shells as they are attached to you. Recognize their presence." The turtles moaned a little, "Slowly, wiggle your fingers and toes. Shrug your shoulders." He paused. Their tiny bones cracked after being inactive for so long. "Open your eyes, but do not move. Look straight ahead. Bring the world into focus. Remain seated for a while longer." He had a hard time opening his own eyes, "Straighten out your legs and gently stretch your arms. Remain sitting." Splinter watched all of his sons. They sat there without a care in the world, looking as if they had just woken up from winter hibernation. He was sure they hardly knew what their names were in this state. But they completed his every task. And that was todays training. A relaxed body is a healthy body, and too much stress could be hazardous to their young bodies. "Very good, my sons. You are free to go play now." He turned off the player and unplugged it from the wall.

The four boys left the dojo and returned to the living room in an orderly fashion. Splinter watched as they slowly strolled back away, barely lifting their feet off the ground. He heard the click of the television and smiled, returning to his own room to meditate himself.

"IT'S MY TURN TO PICK THE SHOW, RAPHIE!"

"NO! YOU PICKED LAST TIME! REMEMBER?"

There was a shattering of glass and the sounds of two young ones fighting, followed by wailing cries.

Splinter sighed, having barely begun meditation. "So much for relaxed." He smiled standing up to resolve the conflict.


	6. Chapter 6

Insanity

Raph rocked back and forth in the corner of his bedroom. No one had seen him for four days. They were all beginning to think he was never coming out.

"The roaches. They're everywhere." He hissed "They're after me" He looked around his room in search of the tiny insects. "They are gonna eat me alive"

Leo stood outside Raph's room, ear pressed against the door. He sighed and walked back to the couch where his brothers were sitting. "I really think you overdid it this time Mikey."

"I was just having a little fun. I didn't mean for him to end up like this" Mikey sighed, flopping off the couch and onto the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~7 Days Before~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey crept up behind Raph with a bucket of cockroaches. He laughed silently before picking up one of the crawling creatures and placing it on Raph's shell. Quickly and quietly, he hid the bucket and nonchalantly walked around the couch to join Raph.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Mikey sat down stifling his laughter.

"Whatever." He shrugged making room for Mikey to sit. Mikey watched as the roach crawled around Raph's shoulder and up the carapace. His eyes lit up as the roach crawled down into his shell and across his shoulder.

Raph felt something crawling on his shoulder. He looked over to take a quick glance before flicking it away. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and he jumped off the couch. "Roach! A Roach! It's on me! Get it off! Get it off!" He jumped up and down trying to get the bug off his shoulder.

Mikey couldn't contain his laughter any longer. He clutched his stomach in deep belly laughter. Tears fell from his eyes for laughing so hard. He wiped them away to check Raph's progress. But that only brought the tears back. Raph was rolling around on the floor trying to squish the poor creature. "Aww man. I wish I had a camera." Mikey laughed kicking his legs in the air.

Donnie heard the screaming and rushed into the living room, "What's the matter guys?" He saw Raph rolling around and Mikey laughing his shell off.

"Raph's got a roach in his shell." Mikey stopped laughing long enough to explain.

Donnie smirked a little and watched a roach crawl back under the couch. "You can get up now Raph. The roach is gone." Donnie shook his head and returned to his lab.

"Are you sure it's gone?" he looked up and gave himself a pat down.

"Yeah, dude. I saw it run under the couch." Mikey stood up and sat back on the couch.

"It's still alive!" Raph jumped on top of the couch like a scared woman.

"Yeah, but at least it's not on you anymore." Mikey joked.

Raph tried to calm down and sat back on the couch, "Yeah, yeah. You're right." He then turned to punch Mikey in the arm, "Don't tell anyone about this!" You got that." He scowled.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Mikey got off the couch, picked up the bucket and went back to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 Days Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Pizza's here!" Leo announced walking into the kitchen carrying a box filled with steaming hot pizza in his hands.

"Finally, I'm starving over here." Raph licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. After Leo set the box on the table, Raph flipped the lid open and grabbed a slice.

Mikey strolled into the kitchen with his hands behind his back, whistling the understood tune of "innocence". He took the seat next to Raph and grabbed himself a slice of pizza. While Raph was turned away, Mikey threw another roach onto Raph's pizza. He chuckled to himself as he took a bite of his own delicious pepperoni goodness.

Raph picked up his slice mid conversation and went to take a bite. The closer he got to inserting the slice to his mouth, the closer he got to biting into the roach. The antennae of the roach tickled Raph's upper lip before he could bite into it. Confused, he took a look at the slice and screamed at a female frequency, "Roach!" He threw the pizza onto Donnie's face and ran out of the room.

Mikey laughed as he downed the rest of his pizza.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 Days Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raph had fallen asleep on the couch after a laborious workout. Mikey took the opportunity to play yet another prank on him. He snuck behind the couch with a handful of roaches. Seeing Raph resting peacefully on the couch was almost too much for Mikey to disturb… Almost… Mikey smiled deviously as he strategically placed each roach on a different area of Raph's body. One on his upper thigh. One on his upper plastron. One on his shoulder. One on his neck. One on his nose. And one on his arm. He watched as the roaches crawled around exploring their new homes.

The tickling sensation of tiny roach legs on his body caused Raph to twitch in his sleep. Mikey quickly evacuated the living room and hid in the next hallway to watch his practical joke unfold. Raph twitched more and more until he was no longer asleep. The now conscious Raphael continued to feel the tiny tickles all over his body and looked to see the source. When he realized it was, what Raph believed was, an army of cockroaches, he hopped off the couch and jumped around like a maniac. "More roaches! They're out to get me! Make it stop!" The roaches eventually all lost their grip on Raph's skin and fell to the floor.

Mikey was laughing hysterically from the hallway. Pranking Raph just never got old. He watched as Raph ran away screaming like a little girl. He heard a bedroom door slam and laughed even harder. Leo heard the laughter and emerged from his room.

"What's going on out here?" Leo asked, looking down at Mikey.

"I've been playing pranks on Raph for the past couple days. He thinks the roaches are out to get him or something." Mikey laughed.

Leo's eye's widened in disbelief, "You mean all the roaches Raph's been complaining about are all your fault!" He raised his voice slightly, "You know Raph doesn't like cockroaches."

"It's just a couple practical jokes, what's the worst that could happen?" Mikey shrugged, still finding his pranks hysterical.

"Well, who's having fun now Mikey. Raph's gone crazy and it's all your fault." Donnie scolded him.

Mikey sighed, rethinking his previous idea that pranking Raph would be funny. "I guess you guys are right. I'll go explain to Raph that I was behind everything." He forced himself off the floor and walked over to Raph's room.

"Hey, Raph. It's Michelangelo." He knocked lightly on the door.

Mikey got no direct answer from Raph, but he could hear Raph chanting from inside the room, "It's a conspiracy. The roaches are out to get me."

"Hey, buddy. I'm coming in, okay?" He gripped the doorknob and turned it. The door squeaked as it opened. Mikey poked his head inside and saw Raph huddled in the corner. He had his knees pressed to his chest and his arms pulling them in even closer. He swayed side to side as his eyes darted every which way to scope for roaches.

Mikey walked in front of Raph and crouched down to make eye contact with his brother, "Look, Raph. All the cockroaches you've been seeing…yeah, those were my fault entirely. I thought it'd be funny to play a few jokes on you, so I collected a few roaches and had a little fun. I didn't think you would go insane over it. Just a few girly screams. But I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Raph suddenly stopped swaying and focused his attention on Mikey, "You mean…the roaches aren't out to get me?" Mikey shook his head. "And all the roaches were yours?" Mikey nodded his head. Raph stood up and grabbed his sai off the night table.

"So, we cool now?" Mikey half smiled as he backed out of Raph's room.

"Not just yet." Raph clutched both sai in his hands and started after Mikey, "I am going to crush your stupid head!" He shouted as he chased Mikey throughout the lair.

"Nice to know you're back to normal!" Mikey smiled, running for his life.


	7. Chapter 7

Misfortune

It was the rainy season in New York City. The rain never seemed to end. For countless days and nights, the raindrops fell from the endless clouds. The rain was intense. Not just a drizzle, but torrential downpour. The storm drains saved the city from massive flooding, but that did not help Splinter.

Splinter stood at the front of the lair watching the water level rise. It wouldn't be long before the water overflowed from the waterways and spilled into their homes. He anticipated it would only take another day or so. He looked back at his sons fumbling around on the floor behind him. It had only been a few months since the mutation. Splinter had spent the last few months renovating the junction where they lived to make it more like a home. There was still much work to do, and Splinter feared he would be set back after the sewer floods.

The young turtles held onto the objects around them, helping them to stand. They have just started learning to walk, and none of them have fully mastered the task. Their tiny immune systems had fallen victim to their damp environment, putting them all a little under the weather. Splinter realized that they wouldn't be able to withstand the water spewing into their home. They were already sick and unable to walk. There was no way they could stay. They had to relocate. At least until the rain stopped.

But it was late, and the young turtles were tired. He watched as they all caught each other's yawn. Starting with Mikey, then Donnie, then Raph, and finally Leo. All the yawning made him tired himself. First thing in the morning, he would collect the turtles and leave. After coming to a satisfying decision, Splinter scooped up his sniffling and sneezing sons and tucked them into bed.

As Splinter was about to leave them, Leo asked his dad a question, "Daddy. Rain stop?" He asked in his broken English.

Splinter feared that the young ones understood too much of the situation, "Very soon, Leonardo. Now go to sleep."

"Night Daddy" He said through a yawn closing his eyes and drifting off into a deep sleep. Splinter then returned to the front of the junction to watch the water rise yet again.

Halfway through the night, he dozed off into a light slumber. As annoying as the rain seemed, it was equally as soothing. The rush of the water and tiny slashes of endless raindrops lulled Splinter into sleep. When he awoke, he felt water surrounding his feet. The waterways had flooded before he had expected, and now their home had at least two inches of dirty rain water and counting. As a father, Splinter's first reaction was to get the kids out of the soggy environment.

They didn't own much. Just the basic necessities of life. A stroller had never been one of those necessities, until then. The young turtles grew at an unbelievable rate, growing a significant amount every day. That made it difficult for Splinter to carry them all. But he had no choice. He had to try the best he could to keep the sick little ones out of the water.

"Daddy. Wet." Michelangelo cried, uncomfortably.

"I know, Michelangelo." He acknowledged Mikey with little regard. Splinters main concern was to find a dry place he could set them down. It was early for them; they were still very tired, practically falling asleep in their father's arms adding their dead weight.

Splinter rushed through the flooded paths trying to keep his eyes open. Every time he was able to wipe away the raindrops in his eyes, even more fell. He ran with no destination and no sign of stopping anytime soon. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. Just somewhere high enough that the rain wouldn't be an issue, not that he knew any place like that.

He looked down at the turtles shivering in his arms. Their tiny colds had the necessary conditions to become something far more severe like strep throat or pneumonia. And that was the last thing Splinter needed to worry about.

"Daddy. Stuffy." Raphael pointed to his nose climbing up on Splinters neck.

"We will take care of that when we get to where we are going." Splinter nudged Raphael back into the mess of his brothers and kept running.

Before Splinter recognized it, he was falling to the ground, dropping all the turtles into the water. "You have to be kidding me?" He sighed out collecting his sons. They were dripping wet. _Just perfect. _Splinter thought and used his robe to wipe them off.

"Cold Daddy. Cold" Donatello shivered, followed by a bought of sneezes.

Splinter's heart sank as he watched all of his sons struggling to keep warm. "I know, Donatello. I am trying to find somewhere warm for us to stay." He looked ahead. There was nothing but sewer tunnels for miles.

But Splinter would not give up. He clutched the shivering children in his arms and started running once again. After hours of tunnel searching and slipping and sliding, Splinter spotted a light in the distance. He hurried to the source. It appeared to be an old subway station. As he got closer, he noticed that it had been relatively unaffected by the waters and dry for the most part.

Splinter sighed in relief as he climbed down the stairs leading into the station. It was still outfitted as a subway station with the turnstiles and the lined seats and small venues for purchasing quick food, but it could quickly be adjusted for easy living. Splinter scavenged around looking for anything he could use to keep the small turtles warm. He had solved one problem only to deal with another. He found a fire blanket in an emergency aid kit. It wasn't the thickest or most comfortable blanket in the world, but it was better than nothing. He formed the blanket into a makeshift bed and tucked each of them in. Their small bodies burned with fever as they shook with chills. Even under the blanket they still appeared to be freezing.

"C-c-cold." Leonardo forced through his chattering lips.

"I know." Splinter sat behind their heads and tried to pass any warmth he had left onto them. Seeing that it was useless, Splinter stood up to continue searching the station for anything that could provide warmth. From the other room, he could hear the sickly sounds coming from all of his sons. His heart broke in two as he realized there was nothing more he could for them. They were his sons, and they were suffering, and there was nothing he could do but keep looking.

_At least they are out of the water, _he kept repeating to himself as some kind of convincing statement that he wasn't all bad at parenting. After more adventurous searching, he found some thick towels and soft blankets that would do much better than the fire blanket. He rushed back to get his sons and wrap them up in the warmer materials.

"Better?" Splinter asked his sons after he tucked them in makeshift cocoons.

The boys all nodded while they struggled to fight the yawns building up in their chests. Splinter recognized their tiredness and encouraged them to sleep. After all he boys were asleep, Splinter stood at the turnstiles and watched the water flow through the tracks below. There was safe. No worrying about flooding. The only worry Splinter had anymore was the health of the children.

As the days went by, the rain had come to a stop. The sewer was slowly returning to its regular water levels. No more flooding. The boys had also improved. They still had the lingering side-effects of a cold: sneezing, coughing, runny nose. But Splinter was thrilled that their temperatures had returned to normal. They had all gotten acquainted with the station, doing their own exploring and adventuring.

As he was stumbling around the stairs, Leonardo looked up at his father. His eyes were wide and he held his hands in the air, signifying that he wanted to be carried. Splinter smiled and picked up his oldest son. He could tell by the way the Leonardo was looking at him that he wanted to ask him something. "What is it you want, Leonardo."

"Home?" He said without hesitating, the obvious heir of question in his voice.

Splinter thought for a moment and looked around. The subway station was more suitable as a home than the sewer junction. They wouldn't have to worry about flooding or rain or anything. Sure, it needed some renovating to make it more livable, but the ends do justify the means. "Yes, Leonardo. This is home." He smiled setting his son back on the floor and picked up with their walking lesson. This is there the turtles will take their first steps.


	8. Chapter 8

Holiday

It was the day before the turtle brothers turned five years old and Raph was in search of presents. He had always been a procrastinator, but he really overdid it this time. Time was closing in and he wasn't sure he'd be able to find anything for his brother's in the sewers. Shopping for gifts was difficult for the turtles. If they were to find anything, it would be used and old, and often times broken. But there was a plus to sewer scavenging: it was always free. He found a thick packet on the construction of a diesel fuel engine he could give to Donnie. It was water logged and written all over, clearly someone's discarded homework, but it was the best he could do given the circumstances. After more searching he stumbled upon a toy racecar lying on the bank of the sewage. He picked it up and took a closer look at it. It was missing a wheel and the paint was worn away. But he was sure Mikey would find some kind of use for it.

"Mikey would love this." Raph smiled throwing a small toy car into his plastic bag of sewer junk.

He still had one more brother to shop for. Shopping for Leo had never been an easy task. Raph didn't spend enough time with Leo to know what he actually liked. He couldn't think of a single thing that he knew Leo enjoyed. Aimlessly, he trudged through every tunnel looking for something he could give Leo for their birthday. Raph found many things, but he couldn't find anything that Leo would like. After hours of searching, Raph could see the sun setting through the slotted grates and returned home, upset he had not found Leo a present.

He wrapped the packet and toy car in some newspapers he had stolen through the grate. He thought they looked horrible, but he had no other option. There was no wrapping paper in the sewers. He put the presents for Donnie and Mikey in his closet to hide them, just in case either of them went in his room, which was highly unlikely. No one ever went in Raph's room. But better safe than sorry.

He was still worried about a present for Leo. It would be different if he had not been able to find anything for any of them. But since he found something for Donnie and Mikey, he had to give Leo something too. Or he risked hurting his big brother's feelings.

He sat on the floor of his room thinking of something Leo would like. He went through everything he owned. All of his comic books, all of his action figures, and all of his toys. But he couldn't find anything Leo would like (or that he was willing to part with). As he cleaned up the huge mess he made, an idea hit him. He dug though his collection of miscellaneous items and found a piece of paper and a box of crayons. After clearing a spot on the floor, Raph laid down and started coloring a picture for Leo.

He drew the family. He tried as hard as he could to find the green that corresponded with the color of their skins. That was the main way they were told apart. Raph was the darkest green. Donnie's skin had more of an olive color. Mikey had more yellow skin. And Leo's was just a regular green. Other than the color of their skin, it was almost impossible to tell them apart. They had their features, but it took a lot of examining to pick them out that way. Besides their individualized voices. But you can't draw voices.

Raph colored away, trying to be as accurate as he could. Donnie was few centimeters taller than the rest of them and his head was more slender. Raph recalled the slight gap in his teeth. Leo's head was rounder and his neck was thin. He knew Leo was the second tallest. Mikey had freckles on the peak of his cheeks and his shell was slightly rounder on the top, opposed to the oval shape of everyone else's. Raph knew his head was far more angular than his brother's heads. He, though he hated to admit it, was the shortest turtle, but only by a hair.

He then drew their father behind them. He was taller than them all by much, clothed in his usual maroon robe with his staff at his side. His ears were erect as they usually are, at least when he wants to hear closely. He had his hands around them all, as if it were a real family photo.

The background was Raph's next concern. He put the crayons down and thought for a minute. He considered drawing the sewer as the background; it was where they lived. But he thought that he should do something a little brighter. He picked up the yellow crayon and drew a large sun in the top corner. He colored the sky in blue, leaving some spots empty to be white puffy clouds. Picking up the green crayon, he colored he grass below their feet. Satisfied with his masterpiece, he signed his name on the back and wrote Happy Birthday Leo above it.

He put it in the closet with the rest of the presents just in time for Leo to run into the room, "Hey Raph. Dinner's ready!" He announced.

Raph smiled and followed Leo out of his room to join his family for dinner.

The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Splinter sat his sons down in the middle of the living room, "Close your eyes." He instructed, holding his hands behind his back. The boys covered their eyes and waited for Splinters instructions to open them up again.

Splinter set a different colored cloth in front of each of them. Leonardo's was blue. Donatello's was purple. Raphael's was red. And Michelangelo's was orange. "Okay, open your eyes now." Splinter smiled as he sat back down.

The boys opened their eyes in excitement and looked down below them. "Cloth…yay." Mikey stated no longer as excited as he was before.

"No, not just cloth. Ninja masks." Splinter smirked. "Put them on." The boys picked them up and pressed them against their faces, lining up the eye holes with their eyes.

"Daddy, can you tie mine for me?" Donnie asked having trouble getting in a perfect knot. A jumbled mess of "me too" came from the other three struggling turtles. Splinter stood up and helped each of them tie their masks.

The boys smiled at the feel of their new masks. They loved them, and became trademark symbols. Leo was now the boy in blue. Donnie was recognized for his purple bask. Raph was known for his red mask, and the orange mask characterized Mikey. They each thanked Splinter with a hug and then moved on to exchange gifts among themselves.

Leo went first. He gave Mikey a stuffed bear, Donnie got a computer chip, and he gave Raph an action figure. All were obviously found in the sewer. Mikey's bear was missing an eye and there was a hole in the side. The chip went who knows where or what was on it. It looked like something Donnie would use. And the action figure looked like it had been through more than the super hero himself. But it was the thought that counted. They each thanked Leo for their gifts and moved on to the next exchange.

Donnie went next. He pulled three books out from behind his back. All of them came from his lab, and it was obvious as they had 'property of Donatello' written on the side. Donnie passed a book on space over to Leo. Since he loved that Space Heroes show so much, he might want to know more about space itself. Mikey got a book of old knock-knock jokes. It was pretty think, so they figured they'd be hearing those jokes for quite some time. Then Donnie gave Raph a comic book. It was one that Raph had seen in Donnie's lab before, and always wanted to read, but Donnie wouldn't let him have. Raph smiled ear-to-ear when he received the book and wanted to start reading it right away.

Mikey went next. He gave Leo a Captain Ryan picture that looked like it fell out of a magazine. He gave Donnie a really big book that had a lot of big words on the front. Mikey couldn't pronounce any of them, so he figured Donnie would love it. Flipping through it, there were some black and white pictures that were more like diagrams with a lot of numbers and arrows. It made Raph's head hurt just looking at it. Mikey then looked over at Raph, waiting patiently for his gift. Mikey stood up and left the circle, running off to his room. He came out a minute later with a small cardboard box. He placed the box in front of Raph. Inside the box was a small normal turtle. Raph picked him up and tried to coax him out of his shell. When he came out, he looked up at Raph, expressionless. Raph smiled at the small thing and looked over at Splinter to approve of it.

"Michelangelo found him in the sewers a few days ago. He asked me if he could give it to you for your birthday, and I allowed it." Splinter smiled, seeing how Raph was already bonding with baby turtle.

Raph smiled and thanked Mikey. "What are you going to name him?" Mikey asked.

Raph looked closely at the turtle, "I'm going to call him Spike." He smiled, setting him carefully on his shoulder. He was so excited that he almost forgot about the presents he had to give to his brothers.

He pulled out the packet and the toy car from behind his back. He was the only one that even attempted wrapping the presents. He gave the packet to Donnie and the toy car to Mikey and watched them open it up. He became much less proud of his drawing than he was the previous night. No one else had given a home-made gift. Donnie seemed enthused about his fuel packet and Mikey was already rolling the car around on the floor.

Leo looked at Raph sadly and tapped him on the shoulder, "Do you have anything for me?" He asked in a tone that dripped with sadness. It looked like Leo was about to cry. His lips curved down into a pout when he saw that Raph's hands were empty.

Raph hated seeing Leo so sad. He sighed and turned around to get the drawing. "I made you something. I couldn't find anything for you when I looked in the sewers." He handed the drawing over to Leo.

Leo looked at it and smiled. He loved it. Donnie and Mikey seemed to like it too, as they dropped their new toys and ran behind Leo to get a better look at it. Raph was suddenly feeling very proud of his gift again. He smiled as he watched his brothers go ga-ga over the drawing.

"It seems your homemade gift was a success, Raphael." Splinter spoke softly, also seeing how happy the rest of his sons were. Raph nodded, pulling Spike off his shoulder and setting him gently back in the box.

After a little more raving over Raph's artwork, the boys collected their presents and put them away. Splinter was in the kitchen getting the birthday cake ready with five candles.

As Raph walked back to the kitchen, he saw Leo standing on the outside of his door, taping the drawing to the front. Raph smiled as he walked over to Leo. "You really like it that much?" He asked.

"You made it yourself. And that makes it special." Leo smiled back, putting the last piece of tape in the corner.

Raph looked at it again, "I just need to make one change." He ran back to his room and grabbed his crayon box. He pulled out the blue, the red, the purple, and the orange. When he got back to Leo's room, he colored over the skin where their new masks were in each respective color. "There. Now it's perfect." Raph smiled.

"Yes. Perfect." He looked back at Raph, "Now come on. It's time for cake!" Leo grabbed Raph's wrist and pulled him to the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

Mikey forced his eyes open. He knew something felt off the second he regained consciousness from a long nights sleep. He looked around the room, but everything was just the way he had left it the night before: messy. He checked his bed to make sure everything was still there, as it was.

He sighed as he climbed out of his bed and trudged along to the bathroom. He took care of his morning business before going to join his family in the kitchen. They had begun breakfast without him. He looked at the clock on the oven, it was after 9 AM. He took his seat at the table and picked up a pancake. He made a face as he picked it up and set it on his plate. He just wasn't very hungry. He felt that the pancake would taste bad.

"Michelangelo. I see you slept in this morning?" Splinter asked, setting his fork on the side of his dish, "Is everything alright, my son?"

All of his brothers turned to look at him, awaiting his response. He tried to speak, but it came out in a harsh scratch. He grabbed his throat in pain.

Splinter quickly stood up and picked up his youngest son. His three brothers surrounded him in fear and worry. "What's wrong with Mikey?" "Is he gonna be okay." "Why does he sound like that?" Only some of the many questions the young boys spat out to their father at lightning speed. He ignored their questions and focused his full attention on Mikey.

"Michelangelo, open your mouth." Splinter demanded. He ignored the questions and the tugging on his robe as he looked inside Mikey's mouth and down into his throat. He set him underneath the light fixture hanging in the kitchen.

He could tell that Mikey's throat was swollen and his tonsils slightly enflamed. There were dark spots on the roof of his mouth and a yellow coating around his throat. He placed his paw on Mikey forehead. He was running a high fever. He was starting to get worried, as he knew those were the signs of strep throat. He pressed his fingers around Mikey's lymph nodes in his neck only to find that they too were swollen.

He carried Mikey out of the kitchen and back to his room, setting him down on his bed. Mikey had all the major signs of strep throat. He tucked him under the covers and sat next to him. Leo, Raph, and Donnie all followed Splinter into Mikey's room. They were all very worried about their brother. They crowded the bed and waited for Splinter to say something.

"Michelangelo. You must not say a word at all today. Your throat is very sore and it will get worse if you try to talk." Splinter explained. The other boys listened closely as Splinter explained what was wrong with Mikey. They comforted Mikey and looked at him sorrowfully. Splinter tried to explain that Mikey's disease was very contagious, but the young boys didn't understand. They only wanted to help their little brother.

"Mikey isn't very good at not talking, daddy." Raph pointed out, making a slight joke out of the situation.

"Well, if he wants to feel better, he will have to remain silent for the remainder of the day." Splinter frowned, knowing it would be a great challenge for his youngest son.

Mikey pulled the covers over his head, slightly embarrassed to be the cause of such a fuss. He knew Raph was right about the difficulty of the task he was asked to complete. He opened his mouth to say something, but was given a stern glare from his father. He then quickly shut his mouth and frowned, not knowing how he would communicate with his family for the day.

Donnie saw the sadness building up in his little brother's eyes. He was unsure whether the cause was being unable to speak, or being in pain by the soreness of his throat. But naturally, he had an idea that may make him even the slightest bit happier. He ran off to his room and grabbed the notebook he had been given by their father just last week. He had planned to use it to sketch his newest ideas, but he figured that Mikey needed it more. "Here Mikey," He handed it to his ill brother. "You can write down what you want to say on the pages."

Mikey looked up thankfully at his purple clad brother. He opened the book to the very first page. His spelling was not always spot-on, but it was manageable. He quickly scribbled down a thank you and showed it to his brother. Donnie smiled, "You're welcome." He grinned, showing the gap in his teeth.

Mikey scribbled more down underneath where he had written his thank you to Donnie. He showed it to his father. Splinter squinted at the words, unable to make them out. He tried his best to read Mikey misspelled chicken scratch. He read aloud: "My throat hurts really bad." Splinter managed to uncover. "I know, Michelangelo. With enough rest, you will start to feel better."

Mikey laid back in his bed and closed his eyes, hoping he would fall asleep. Having just woken up though, he was not even the slightest but tired. He sighed, slightly upsetting his throat. It had already hurt him to talk and swallow, and now to breathe. He had a feeling that he would start to feel a lot worse before he started to feel better.

Leo frowned warmly at his youngest brother. It hurt him that Mikey was not feeling well. He wished there was something he could do to make some of the pain go away. He thought for a little bit, and then recalled a time where he had not been feeling his best and Splinter made him some warm tea. It made him feel better, so he figured it would work for Mikey also. Leo ran out into the kitchen. The pot of water Splinter used to make his breakfast tea was still fairly hot. He poured some of it into a small mug. He dipped a fresh tea bag containing herbal green tea. He didn't want to make it too strong, so he only let it sit for a little more than a minute before he ran it back to Mikey's room. "Here, Mikey. This might help you." He handed it to Mikey.

Mikey smiled at Leo accepting the mug. He looked at Splinter for reassurance that it was okay for him to drink the tea. He pointed to the cup, then his mouth. Splinter understood and encouraged him to drink the tea while it was still hot. He had learned in his human years that hot liquids are good for sore throats because they are easy to swallow and soothe the irritated throat muscles.

Mikey took a slow sip. It was still a little hot and burned his tongue slightly, but it was worth it when he felt relief in his throat. "Any better?" Leo asked after Mikey had swallowed. Mikey nodded in response. He smiled at his eldest brother in thanks before taking another sip. He was thrilled that he had found even the slightest remedy for his sore throat.

When he had finished the tea, he set the mug down and sighed in relief, his throat not being his main concern anymore. His father and brothers had long left him to rest, but he could still not rest. He stared up at the ceiling, sweating from fever, just uncomfortable. He wanted to yell to someone, but remembered that he was not allowed to talk. He knew he was supposed to leave his room, but he was so lonely.

Just as soon as Mikey rested his head back on the pillow, the door opened a little. Mikey turned his head to investigate as his brother walked into the room. Mikey tried to tell him to go away. He quickly scribbled that he was contagious, whatever that meant, and Splinter told them to stay away from him. He tossed the book to his brother, who was slowly creeping closer to him. He caught it with ease, skimmed it over, scoffed, and threw it back to Mikey.

Mikey didn't want to get his brother sick like this too. It was no fun at all, and the whole silent thing was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Sorry you're sick, Mikey." Raph sat next to him on the bed. "Do you feel any better?"

Mikey shook his head "no" and sighed. He knew that he should be resting, but he just couldn't sleep.

Raph smiled a little and pulled a small toy bear out from behind his back. "here," Raph said, handing it to Mikey. "Maybe it will help you fall asleep." Raph blushed a little. It wasn't often that he was kind to one of his brothers.

Mikey looked at Raph rather dumbfounded. He figured that Raph had come in to make him feel worse or trick him into talking. Those sound like the kinds of things Raph would do. Raph doesn't asked concerned questions or give teddy bears. He doesn't sit on beds and act nicely. He brings sadness and pain, not happiness and love. He looked up at Rap with eyes that asked "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't help my little brother fall asleep?" He smirked a little, tucking in the teddy bear in with Mikey. "Comfy?" Raph asked, lightly rubbing Mikey's plastron.

Mikey nodded in response. His eyelids became heavy and he could feel a yawn building up in his chest. He let it out, now feeling more tired than ever. He looked up at Raph, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Raph smiled down at him, rubbing his plastron a few more times. Mikey closed his eyes permanently and fell into a peaceful slumber. When he was sure Mikey had fallen asleep, he silently crept out of the room, not before wishing his brother a pleasant rest.

After Raph left Mikey's room, he joined his brothers back on the sofa where they sat watching TV. He slouched down into the couch, able to actually hear what the characters in the cartoon were saying for the first time in his five short years of life. It was so different to him. Usually, he never had down time like this. He was either training or fighting with Mikey. And he could do none of that today. Splinter had decided to give them the day off; worried Mikey would fall behind in his absence. And there was no Mikey around to fight with. Only the silence that haunted the atmosphere around him. Donnie had nothing to say, which was also rare. And Leo sat there, taking in everything around him. There was nothing but an awkward silence between them.

Though Raph would never admit it, Mikey was the noise that the lair needed. He never realized just how quiet everything would be if Mikey weren't around. He often wished Mikey would be quieter, but he never imagined the tension that came with the silence. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop all the way in Splinters room. It chilled Raph's core. He needed the commotion, the yelling, the fighting. It made him feel at home. He needed Mikey.

~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey awoke many hours later. He didn't know long he had been asleep. It felt like he was in a new year. There was no way it was the same day it was when he fell asleep. His eyes still shut as he was knocked back to consciousness. He heard the hushed whispers of his family around him as he lay in his bed. "I think he's waking up." "Be quiet. He'll hear you?" "He's moving!" The voices of his brothers clouded his still disoriented mind. They made it sounds like he was rising from the dead. It was just a deep sleep, probably the best he had slept his entire life.

He opened his eyes, meeting the close gazes of his brothers and his father. He stretched, remembering that he was still not allowed to speak. His entire family hovered over him, watching him closely.

Leo looked at him curiously, "Do you feel any better now Mikey?" He asked. He had been waiting all of the previous day to play with his little brother, and he was starting to get restless.

Mikey looked up at his father, waiting for him to say something. It was typical of Mikey to look at Splinter before doing anything, making sure it was okay to be done. Splinter smiled warmly down at him. "You may try to speak if you think you are ready, Michelangelo." He explained.

He opened his mouth, placing both hands over his throat. The soreness was not as bad as it was the day before. Thought he could still feel an uncomfortable scratching, it was more tolerable. He cleared his throat before speaking for the first time in about twenty-four hours. "A little bit." He said hoarsely.

Splinter rested his paw on Mikey's forehead. He still had a lingering fever. "You seem to be getting better." He smiled, "Would you like to join us in the living room?" He asked, understanding how Mikey hated the solitude.

Mikey smiled, "Yes, please." He said eagerly, pushing the blankets off of himself.


End file.
